Plex Port Forwarding (Remote Access Setup Guide)

Plex port forwarding is a networking technique that allows external devices to access a Plex media server on a private network. In this guide, we will explore how you can enable access to your Plex media server from the internet through port forwarding. With the right solution in your corner, the process of Plex port forwarding is remarkably straightforward. Let’s dive straight in.

Table of contents

• Plex Port Forwarding (What Is It?)
• Does Plex use port forwarding?
• How do I port forward my Plex server?
• What port should I use for Plex?

Plex Port Forwarding (What Is It?)

Plex port forwarding enables you to connect your Plex media server to your home network and external devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and computers. Through port forwarding, all of these devices can access the Plex media server (opens in a new tab) and stream content from it, even if they are not connected to the same local network as the Plex media server.

Port forwarding allows the Plex media server to be accessible from the internet, allowing users to access their content from anywhere. This is especially useful for users who want to access their media content when they are away from home, such as when they are traveling or at work.

Does Plex use port forwarding?

You can use Plex port forwarding to allow external devices to access your media server. To use port forwarding with Plex, you will need LocalXpose account, as well as a Plex media server that is running on a device connected to the home network.

With the LocalXpose, the process of setting up port forwarding (opens in a new tab) for Plex is relatively easy and without configuring your router to forward incoming traffic. External devices can access the server by connecting to your public IP address that is assigned to you by LocalXpose and the port that you have configured for Plex.

How do I port forward my Plex server?

Let’s imagine an example of how you can configure port forwarding for your Plex server.

If your Plex server is only accessible on your local area network and is listening on port 32400/TCP, you can configure port forwarding on your router to allow others to access the server through an internet connection. This will allow you to access the Plex server on port 32400/TCP from outside your local network. You can achieve this with a reverse proxy solution (opens in a new tab).

To access your local server, you can use LocalXpose (opens in a new tab), a reverse proxy solution that allows you to expose your localhost to the internet. To do this, you will need to download LocalXpose and run the following command from your terminal:

./loclx tunnel tcp --port 4444 --to localhost:32400

By running this command, you will be given an address such as us.loclx.io:4444 that can be used to access your Plex server from outside your network. LocalXpose's reverse proxy also allows you to use IP whitelisting to grant access to specific IP addresses, ensuring that only authorized users can access your Plex server.

What port should I use for Plex?

The default port that is used for Plex is TCP port 32400. Although, it’s worth remembering that you can use any port that you want, as long as it is not being used by another service on your network for something entirely different.

When setting up port forwarding for Plex, it is important to choose a port that is not commonly used by other services. This will help ensure that the port forwarding is not disrupted by other services that may be running on your network.

Are you ready to get started? Explore the possibilities of LocalXpose today (opens in a new tab).